LIV Golf has confirmed details on its transfer window, which will take place in several phases in preparation for the 2024 season.
Five players have been offered contract extensions thanks to their places in the top 24 of the individual standings (the Lock Zone). However, five more out-of-contract players who finished between 25th and 44th (the Open Zone) will not have the luxury of an automatic contract extension.
That means they will need to either persuade their existing teams that they are worthy of retention, negotiate with another team with an open slot in its roster, or, failing that, strive for a top-three finish in December’s LIV Golf Promotions event.
Here are the five out-of-contract LIV Golf players who battling for a place in the 2024 season.
Pat Perez
When LIV Golf began, one of the less celebrated players in its line-up was Perez. After all, he was already 46 at the time of signing, while he had a relatively modest three PGA Tour wins.
Perez wasn't truly able to shake off his journeyman reputation in his first season, but he did make some telling contributions to Dustin Johnson's 4 Aces GC, particularly when it stormed to the Team Championship title, leaving his then teammate Talor Gooch saying “Perez came through for us clutch this week.”
While Gooch moved on to Range Goats GC for the 2023 season, Perez stayed on Johnson’s team, and the group had another good season, finishing top of the standings before eventually settling for fourth in the Team Championship.
Once again, Perez was inconsistent on the course, though, with three top 10 finishes among others ranging between 15th and 45th. In the end, Perez finished four places beneath the safety of the Lock Zone and the guarantee of another season with his team.
We may yet see more of Perez with LIV Golf, and it may even be with 4 Aces GC, but he’ll have to secure another contract first.
David Puig
After joining LIV Golf as an amateur in time for its inaugural tournament in London, the Spaniard was rewarded for his efforts with a professional contract last September.
As it turned out, by the time the ink was dry on his contract, Puig had already made his final contribution to the season after finishes of 40th, 42nd and 39th leading up to him turning pro.
The Torque GC player was utilised far more in 2023 as the team finished third in the standings. Puig’s contributions remained modest, though, with only two top 10 finishes – in his homeland at Valderrama for LIV Golf Andalucia and at LIV Golf Greenbrier. That left him 31st in the standings, firmly in the uncertainty of the Open Zone and the Free Agency phase of the transfer window.
Those two top-10 finishes certainly demonstrated the 21-year-old’s potential, but whether it will be enough for someone to offer him a new deal remains to be seen.
Matt Jones
The Australian may only have four wins in his professional career, including two on the PGA Tour, but he has shown admirable consistency across his 22-year professional career, with over 250 weeks in the world’s top 100.
Of course, given LIV Golf has been turned down for world ranking points, those days don’t appear to be coming back anytime soon, and he’s currently 254th. Of far more pressing concern for the Ripper GC player will be securing a new contract after a season that was reminiscent of much of his career to date – solid if unspectacular.
There was one top 10 to show for his efforts, seventh in the second tournament of the season, in Tucson, but he only breached the top 20 in one other event, while 42nd at LIV Golf Adelaide in his homeland was particularly disappointing.
Jones finished 37th in the individual standings, and will need some powers of persuasion to convince either his existing team or another to take him on and spare him a date with destiny in the LIV Golf Promotions tournament.
Bernd Wiesberger
The first of two Cleeks GC players looking for a contract is Wiesberger.
The Austrian undoubtedly has the ability to be a success on the circuit, with 12 professional wins and an appearance in the 2021 Ryder Cup to look back on. However, his LIV Golf career has never really taken off.
In 2022, his best finish came with eighth in Jeddah and, despite playing several more tournaments over the year in the 2023 LIV Golf League season, it remains the one time he has finished in the top 10.
The best Wiesberger had to show for this season was 11th, again in the Saudi Arabian city. While that was encouraging, it could be a case of too little too late with it coming in the last of the regular events of the season.
Graeme McDowell
The second Cleeks GC player on the list is another who has experience of representing Europe in the Ryder Cup. McDowell has made four appearances in the match and that, as well as victory in the 2010 US Open, must have been compelling reasons to offer him a LIV Golf contract, even as he approached his mid-forties.
McDowell has been realistic about his prospects of remaining a LIV Golf player, but has already stated his case, saying in September: “I feel like I’ve been a good spokesman for the league and a good ambassador for the tour and hopefully there is a captain that wants me on his team.”
In truth, though, McDowell has struggled for much of his time on the circuit, with only one top-10 finish, in the inaugural event in London in 2022.
This year, the best he could manage was 12th at Bedminster. Because of that, he’ll be relying on past glories rather than recent form as he seeks possession of a new contract rather than a ticket to Abu Dhabi for the LIV Golf Promotions event.
While the five players face an uncertain few weeks hoping to claim a new contract, what is certain is the fabulous Black Friday golf deals, which are already rolling in.
